Economists have urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to adopt innovative policies that will boost domestic production and address the security challenge responsible for the persistent rise in the inflation rate.

They said this in separate interviews on Wednesday in Lagos.

Austine Nwaeze, lecturer of Economics at the Pan Atlantic University, said the government should initiate policies to enhance production in the country.

“The government could ensure that access to raw materials is available for local producers through its backward integration programmes. Issues relating to multiple taxation needs to be addressed to reduce the headwinds associated with domestic production,” Mr Nwaeze said.

He noted that the federal government should invest more in key infrastructure that would stimulate the growth of the productive sector, including electricity, railway and other transport modes.

Muda Yusuf, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise CEO, said “more collaboration among the three tiers of government is needed in providing intelligence to the authorities to bring the challenges under control.”

He said this would encourage farmers to begin cultivation in the food belt states to raise food output, urging the government to address the rising cost of transportation, one of the major causes of inflation in the country.

Another expert, Godwin Anono, the president of the Standard Shareholders Association of Nigeria, advised the government to continue to support private investments in the refined petroleum sector to check importation.

“Having more privately-owned refineries will enable the country to achieve self-sufficiency and reduce the inflationary increase that is associated with importation,” stated Mr Anono. “The government can save its scarce foreign exchange and reallocate to other productive sectors of the economy.”

He urged the government to put in place measures that would ameliorate the impact of climate change on food production.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 22.41 per cent in May from 22.22 per cent in the previous month.

The statistics office said the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 per cent compared to April.

(NAN)